The City of Greenwood is once again trying to scrap its garbage removal service.
Council at its regular meeting Monday, June 28, passed a resolution asking that the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) start taking residents’ trash and green bin clippings beginning next January.
READ MORE: City looks at contracting out work – Greenwood council briefs June 24, 2013
“It seems to be a situation where we’re having a hard time sustaining the service,” Mayor Barry Noll said at Monday’s meeting. The city’s three public works’ employees are hard-pressed to keep up weekly collections, he explained, noting that the city’s garbage truck is probably on its last legs.
The alternative would be to switch to a pay-per-use service, where residents would tag their trash bags with store-bought stickers. RDKB trucks would likely add Greenwood to Midway’s collection schedule, Noll said.
Speaking to The Times Friday, July 2, Greenwood’s Chief Administrative Officer Marcus Lebler and RDKB Communications Director Frances Maika both qualified that the plan is still in its early stages. It remains for RDKB staff to put together a proposal detailing the broad strokes, Maika explained. From there, Lebler said he would report the logistics, including tentative financials, to mayor and council.
It’s not yet clear if dropping garbage removal would save Greenwood taxpayers’ money, but Lebler noted, “this has been on council’s radar” for years. “We’re at that point where I think a decision needs to be made about whether or not it makes sense for the city to hold onto this,” he suggested.
The RDKB would hold off on a final decision until the issue came before a steering committee that overlooks the regional district’s Solid Waste Management Plan, Communications Director Maika explained. This would involve input from committee members Mayor Noll and RDKB Area E Director Vicki Gee, she added.
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